Month: January 2011

I’ve been watching a lot of The Muppets lately. Partly on YouTube, partly movies, and The Muppet Show from Netflix. I had forgotten what genius The Muppets are. The Muppet Show is one of my all time favorite shows. I really enjoyed the ballroom skit and Muppet News Flash. My favorites were Pigs In Spaaace and the Swedish Chef. I can still do a good impression of him. Sure The Muppet Show is corny. Sure it’s hokey. But that is part of its charm. They consistantly produced a quality show with interesting guests. It was fun seeing people who you may not see that much or in a while like Alice Cooper, Harvey Korman, Ruth Buzzi, or Vincent Price. The coolest part for me though was the technical aspect. I’ve always loved puppets and used to do them in church. And it’s hard. Try holding your arm above your head for more than 5 or 8 minutes. All the while acting with your hand. And staying out of sight. So I was very appreciative of what was going on behind and under the scenes.

The movies. I like the Muppet movies. They are cute and funny for the most part. My favorite is Muppet Treasure Island. They did a good riff on the story and Tim Currie is fantastic. And so is Billy Connolly though his part is brief. A Muppet Christmas Carol is a close second. Michael Caine makes a pretty good Ebenezer Scrooge but Gonzo and Rizzo make it for me.

The Muppets haven’t been idle. Check out YouTube. There are some really fun Muppet versions of songs there. In particular Bohemian Rhapsody. There is other new content there also. And fan made things. So check them out for a lot of fun.

And you may not be aware that they are making a new Muppet movie. I for one am glad to hear it and can’t wait for it to be released. Check it out at IMDB here.

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It’s been a very long time since I posted any podcast feedback. Mainly because I had not been listening to any podcasts nor when I did, was not able to take notes. Feedback was the reason for starting this blog. It’s about time I returned to it. So here we go.

A lot of these are old podcasts so bear with me.

I have to begin with Pulp Gamer – Out of Character. Don and the gang were very supportive of me beginning Go Forth And Game. I’ll begin with the ‘Games To Be Thankful For’ episode. There was a lot of mention of ‘The Canon of The Game’ and sticking to or not sticking to it. In keeping with the theme here are some games I’m thankful for: Memoir ’44, Homesteaders, Macao, Fiasco, FATE.

They did an episode on Crime in Games. Leverage was one that was mentioned. I’ve never seen the TV show it is based on but from their description and those of others, this is one I need to check out. When people talk about crime in games, especially rpg’s, I immediately think of Fiasco. I LOVE this game. I really need to do a review.

Narrative Control 56 covered change in your characters and how to deal with it. Characters changing during a game or especially a campaign is something to expect. Characters should grow. Players should be willing to seriously consider change and where that change can lead. Change can result in some really cool stories. As an example my character Jind in our Diaspora game changed radically during character creation from my original idea of him. And that change has had a major impact on the game.

Narrative Control 57 was about Apocalypse World, Vincent Baker’s newest game. There has been a lot of buzz on this game, both good and negative. One of the main points I picked up was that AW tells the players how to play. This is an interesting thing and generated a lot of discussion in the show. It seems so simple that we overlook or assume that the game has done this. But some games don’t. I appreciated them bringing this out. I will use it for ‘comatose’ or what ever it will be called. Another thing they liked about AW was the inclusion of examples of bad play or how not to play. What a good idea. All in all the show made me want to check out this game, if only for the GM advice and to see another way to write an rpg. Note: AW seems like a good game to do a Thundarr game.

I rediscovered Reasonable Faith. This is a podcast by Christian apologist William Lane Craig. This is always an excellent podcast that makes me think. I will do a proper feedback in another post.

I listened to a Please Convince Me show too. I will cover it in the same post as Reasonable Faith.

The Game Kennel covered Tigris & Euphrates. I have played it once and really like it. The Pulpsters do a good job of covering T&E. It is a deep game, a thinky game. There is a lot to keep up with and remember. They are right that you need multiple plays to get your head around it. I like it and it is on the Buy List.

Voice of The Revolution covered Monsters And Other Childish Things. This sounds like a fun game. What really interests me is the One Role Engine (ORE) system it uses. ORE is a rich dice system in which a single roll of the dice yields more than just a number. It uses all aspects of the dice. Pip number of each die, dice color, doubles, high/low – information you can garner from one roll of the dice. This idea fascinates me. Wringing all the information you can from your mechanics and props is an awesome idea. I’m using it in a couple of game I’m developing – The Survivor, The Accused, and The Gold Rush. This idea streamlines a game and enables you to do a lot more with what you have. Look for more on this in a future post.

I’m listening more regularly now so more feedback is coming. That’s about it for now.